It’s Spring!

That’s what the calendar is telling us. As is the wind howling through the trees, and shortly, a string of cold south-westerly thunderstorms and gales. Stay classy, Welly Weather God!

Leaving that aside, the our eternal optimism finds expression in the celebration of growing things that is the Spring Festival, to start at the weekend (through to 3 October).

The first event is the annual Otari-Wilton’s Bush Open Day & Plant Sale, which any aspiring suburbanite should be advised to attend early if they want to pick up the really good stuff. Early bird catches the hard-to-find horoeka variant and all that. But even if you’re not a gardener, the ‘Bush is a very nice place for a stroll, especially on Open Days when afterwards you can reward yourself at the sausage sizzle (and the last couple of years there’s been a coffee cart there too).

You’ll also stand a good chance of seeing lots of tui, the occasional kaka, and probably even a falcon (and here, this author must insert a gratuitous "please read this and then vote for the falcon here"). To get there, just catch the Number 14 from town; there are also some free transport options on the day if you can get hold of a printed copy of the Festival Brochure.

Another interesting-sounding series of events are the "Poetry in Lambton Quay", on every day next week and for most of the week after at 12:30 by the Braille Sculpture at Grey Street, and featuring "some of Wellington’s top poets". Who these might be is not stated – which does add to the interest…

Most of the rest of the events are centred around the City’s various gardens, such as the "Grow your own Vegetables" workshop on Sunday; various walks and tours; and a kids’ tree-climbing class (yes, really – they’ll learn to do it safely, apparently).

So wrap up warm, and get out of the house!